Monroe Township dates to 1817, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #243 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Monroe Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Its Register listing is the Navarre-Anderson Trading Post. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1840.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Monroe Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #243 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Monroe Township’s overall grade.
Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Monroe Township’s 0.7 sits above most of its state (65% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1817.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Monroe Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Avalon BeachBolles HarborEvergreen AcresHoliday South Mobile Home ParkMeadowbrook Estates Mobile Home ParkOakridge Estates Mobile Home ParkPatterson GardensSouth MonroeWest MonroeWillow Green Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Denniston QuarrymineMichigan Historic Crossroads Historical MarkerparkMichigan Twenty-sixth State Historical Markerpark
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Monroe Township
AlbainLeonardMonroe Potters FieldMonroe TownshipSaint Paul's Lutheran Church
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Monroe Township on the map, 1912 to 1979
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Monroe Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1912Monroe sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Monroe Township.
Long occupied by varying cultures of indigenous peoples, the area around the River Raisin was settled by the Potawatomi hundreds of years before French explorers and colonists reached it in the late 17th century. Robert de LaSalle claimed the area for New France after his 1679 expedition on the Griffon.
In 1784, after the American Revolutionary War, the Potawatomi gave Francis Navarre of Canada some land south of the River Raisin. Shortly thereafter, Colonists settled Frenchtown, the third European community in what became the state of Michigan. Around the same time, French-Canadian Joseph Porlier Benec established the Sandy Creek Settlement just north of Frenchtown.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1817, according to Wikidata. the census of 1840 counted 1,703 people here.
How does Monroe Township rank for history?
Monroe Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #243 of 701 in Michigan. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Monroe Township?
One place: the Navarre-Anderson Trading Post (listed 1972).
How old are the homes in Monroe Township?
8% of Monroe Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1979.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
